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Definition of preempt in US English:

preempt

verb

1Take action in order to prevent (an anticipated event) from happening; forestall.

‘the government preempted a coup attempt’

‘Hedging or pre-empting foreign currency exposure is an ideal way to protect profitability.’

‘Why don't these guys just talk and write like normal people in the first place, and thus pre-empt the ‘media misunderstandings’ they're always complaining about?’

‘But on this occasion police pre-empted the event and warned drivers to keep away.’

‘For this campaign Soviet troops used parachute formations on a large scale to occupy the ports of Dairen and Port Arthur to pre-empt an anticipated American landing.’

‘Or, they may have decided to locate a store in Vancouver not because they believe they can make a profit there, but to pre-empt any of their global competitors from gaining the market share that Vancouver represents.’

‘Naturally, the conversation turned towards the difficulties of dedicating time to the demands of competitive yacht racing, pre-empted by the pressure of official duties.’

‘Of course, the media is always trying to pre-empt events, but where there is smoke there is fire.’

‘We don't want to pre-empt anything that people might want to do,’ said Mrs Taylor.’

‘The intent is to be able to quickly pre-empt disasters like the outbreak of mad cow disease that struck Europe during the '90s.’

‘Often the coup is undertaken to pre-empt revolutionary change from below and impose a measure of reform from above.’

‘Although I am not sure, I believe legislation thus pre-empts any attempt to recover additional damages through a lawsuit.’

‘So the agencies hope to pre-empt Congress, in part to preserve their own discretion.’

‘France's move is intended to pre-empt such action.’

‘First, it is clear the authorities did little or nothing to pre-empt the events of last year.’

‘The last thing the nation needed was for its Prime Minister to pre-empt such a debate by writing his own preamble.’

‘He was pre-empted by a question from the audience seeking an explanation as to why the former democratically-elected team had been sacked.’

‘However, the giant pre-empted him by the simple expedient of hauling the prostrate felon off the ground by his hair and then dropping him when Grundle had scrambled clear.’

‘Being a thoroughly honest person, I thought it would be wise to pre-empt any observant readers of this site, particularly the ones with long memories, who might recall an entry I posted here nearly eight months ago.’

‘The central bank apparently decided to pre-empt the politicians, but the move has raised doubts about the true degree of its independence.’

‘Two translations of De Magnete appeared; although Thompson began first, he was pre-empted by P Fleury Mottelay's 1893 edition.’

‘The company's spring meeting was the occasion for the shareholders to pre-empt the governing board by throwing down the gauntlet on finance and management of services.’

‘I have not seen anything in the Minister's comments that suggest he was pre-empting anyone.’

‘Community groups are right to complain about the Ontario Municipal Board and the way it pre-empts the land-use decisions of municipal councils while destroying the relative permanence of Official Plans.’